Autumn Leaves
by mistykasumi
Summary: When Draco Malfoy visited France, he never thought that he would meet anyone like Blaise Zabini. The two men slowly draw each other into a game of seduction that becomes much more than what they had originally bargained for and finally make their way int
1. Stage I: Pretension

Title:  Autumn Leaves

Author name and e-mail: mistykasumi at SeducerofFantasy@hotmail.com

Pairing:  Draco/Blaise

Summary: When Draco Malfoy visited France, he never thought that he would meet anyone like Blaise Zabini.  The two men slowly draw each other into a game of seduction that becomes much more than what they had originally bargained for and finally make their way into each other's hearts.  A.U. , set in France before the French Revolution.  Response to Coil challenge for June 2003.

Rating: R

Category:  Romance

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters and objects. They belong to J. K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Inc., Warner Bros, and anyone else with copyrights. I only own the plot of this story and any original items, characters, spells, and any other original objects not found in any of the published HP books (including the two minis).

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Stage I

Pretension

Step One

Exposition

            Draco Malfoy rode in the ornate carriage with his wife, the former Pansy Parkinson, as they sped towards the residence of her best friend, Virginia Weasley, no, Zabini now.  He could hardly understand how a _Weasley_ could be his wife's best friend or marry a Zabini, as they were at the bottom of the aristocracy, but now was not the time to debate over such matters.   The countryside of France passed before Draco's eyes as he peered nonchalantly out the window while Pansy looked in a handheld mirror, her other hand nervously rearranging her hair.

            "How do I look, dear?" her syrupy voice dripped, and Draco cringed.  He turned to look at her, hair arranged in the latest fashion of the ladies.  Her face was heavily applied with rouge and other makeup women put on that were starting to smudge due to the sweat caused by the heat of her many clothes and the narrow confines and tiny windows of the carriage plus the humid temperature outside.  Her small body was squeezed into an even smaller dress, and her eyes looked up at him with apprehension at his words.

            "You look just fine, dear."  His words relieved her greatly, as he could tell from her mien of herself, though she continued to peer into her mirror nervously.

            Draco heard the sound of the switch hitting the horses' back stop and felt the carriage slowing down.  Pansy patted her hair one last time before storing her mirror away in a satchel and sitting primly, awaiting the halt of the carriage.

            The door opened, and Draco stepped out, glad to be rid of the stuffiness of the coach.  He turned back towards the open door and held out his hand, and his wife's gloved hand daintily settled onto his as she stepped carefully out of the carriage.  A servant rushed down the steps of the manor to greet them while their driver led the carriage away.

            "Lord and Lady Malfoy, please come in.  Lady Zabini has been waiting eagerly for your arrival," the butler spoke in English that held a thick French accent, eyes never meeting any of theirs.

            "Tell the servants that they may speak to me in French," Draco replied fluently in French, and the butler nodded with his head down, though Draco detected surprise.

            Pansy looked at him also with astonishment in her eyes, and Draco held out his arm, saying, "Let us go inside, dear.  Basking in the sun right now would be unhealthy for your complexion."  Hearing these words, she immediately took his proffered arm, and the couple made their way up the marble steps leading to the entrance of _Cieux de Paradis._

            The butler had already entered the grand manor, and he led them down exquisitely carpeted corridors to the Sitting Room.  When they entered, they found a lady sitting with her back to them, head quickly turning at their entrance.  She immediately rose and glided towards the door to greet them.

            The lady curtsied first to him, her eyes downcast and modest.  They remained so until he gently raised her gloved hand to his lips, in which they looked up to meet his placid grey ones.  Red hair arranged also in the latest fashion, face heavily shadowed with colors, body in a lilac dress of the current style, and on her neck, a brilliant gold locket.

            "Lady Zabini, it is a pleasure to meet you," he told her smoothly, and Draco noticed a faint blush upon her already painted-red cheeks.

            "No, it is my pleasure to meet you, Lord Malfoy," she replied.

            He released her hand, and Lady Zabini moved to his wife.  "I am glad to be reacquainted with you, Lady Malfoy."

            "It is my pleasure to see you again, Lady Zabini.  Please just call me Pansy."

Step Two

Complication

            "Likewise, please call me Ginny.  You too, Lord Malfoy.  Please come in and seat yourselves."  Ginny settled back onto her couch while Draco and Pansy settled themselves onto the couch opposite her.  The redhead rang a silver bell, and a maid bustled in and curtsied.

            "What may I do for you, Lady Zabini?"

            "Bring us some tea," Ginny told her.  The maid quickly left, and Ginny turned to them once again.  "I apologize, but my husband is on business in Paris.  He shall be back in a few days, though."

            "What a shame," Pansy said, though Draco could fee the dishonesty radiating from her.  An awkward silence descended over them, with Pansy and Ginny occasionally trying to start conversation again by using small talk, though the silence refused to be permeated.  Draco felt desperation between them, as if they thought their friendship would lapse into nothing.  But that couldn't be right.  They exchanged letters with each other often, so how could such a strong _friendship_ all of a sudden be severed?  The blond had a feeling that there was something deeper beneath the surface of things, and though a bit curious, he had no real inclination to discover the truth as it did not directly concern him.

            The maid returned with a tray of tea, and as she started towards the small glass table between the two couches, she tripped.  Pansy opened her mouth to scold her, even though she wasn't their servant, but before she could do so, the pot of tea spilled onto Ginny's dress.  Ginny quickly stood up, avoiding the scalding liquid and sending the teapot clattering onto the floor.  Pansy immediately stood up and strode over to the trembling maid, and she slapped the servant so hard that the maid fell into the spreading puddle of hot tea.

            "Please excuse me while I change myself," Ginny's soft voice wafted towards them, and Pansy replied, "I am coming with you, Ginny."  The two ladies exited the room while Draco relaxed into the couch, amused.  The fallen maid quickly collected the scattered tea things and scurried out of the room.  Moments later, another maid came and mopped up the spilled tea, and Draco was left alone after that.

Step Three

Concentration

            "Lord Malfoy, a letter," a servant said minutes later, entering the room and bowing.  Draco took the letter from the servant and dismissed him, then looked at the letter.  His name was written on the front of the envelope, and he turned it over to see a serpent wrapped around a sword imprint on the back in red wax.  Draco used a finger to break open the seal, and he took out the letter and opened the folded paper.

            _Draco,_

_            I trust that you have arrived safely at _Cieux de Paradis_.  How is __France__ right now?  You have not been back since when you were eight.  If you have time, would you visit Rose Aube__ and tell your grandparents that your father and I send our regards._

_            How is your stay with the Zabinis?  The Zabinis are an old line, almost as old as the Malfoy line.  Be sure to be on good graces with Blaise.  An alliance may prove useful.  Do, however, avoid the Weasley.  We do not want you associating with such disgrace.  In fact, I am surprised that the elder Lord Zabini agreed to such a match, but no matter.  Had your father and I known that Pansy is friends with such riffraff, we would have looked elsewhere for a suitable match.  Have you heard that the youngest Weasley male, Ronald, has married the daughter of a lowly merchant, Hermione Granger?  The family has neither shame nor honor, and their blood becomes more tainted every generation._

_            There has been talk about a revolution in __France__.  Be back before the end of summer because I have heard that the rebels are intent upon seizing the king and queen and executing them, and those two won't return to __Paris__ until the beginning of autumn.  Once the revolution starts, there will be no transportation, and I hear that they are intent on killing all noblemen._

_            Do send Blaise our regards, and good luck._

_Avec amour,_

_Lady Narcissa Malfoy_

            Draco folded the letter along its creases precisely and carefully before slipping it back into the envelope and putting the papers in his pant pocket.  He withdrew a handkerchief from the pocket of his vest and dabbed it upon his moist skin, frowning at the heat.

Step Four

Attention

            Pansy and Ginny reentered, Ginny now dressed in a white summer dress.  "Lord Malfoy and Pansy, would you care to see our grounds?" asked Ginny, and Draco nodded his consent, finding nothing else to occupy his time.

            Ginny led them through the grand mansion, showing them valuable antiques and priceless treasures that even Draco had to marvel at.  She then led the two onto the grounds, showing them the forest, gardens, orchards, and lake.

            Dinner was warm between Ginny and Pansy, the two exchanging gossip, horror stories, and other womanly tales.  Draco even joined in the talking after a while, and a peaceful, friendly atmosphere descended between the three of them.

            While Pansy and Ginny held picnics and went sightseeing the next three days, (shopping was scheduled for later days), Draco found his way into the library since he had nothing much to occupy his time with.  He was fascinated by the wide selection of books in the large library, and the more philosophy and politics he read, the more the xanthochroid wanted to meet Blaise Zabini, the owner of the fascinating and intriguing volumes.

Step Five

Confusion

            The next day, after breakfast, as Ginny and Pansy were about to visit Lady Delacour, an acquaintance of Ginny's, a servant rushed in with several bags.  Behind him followed a gentleman.  When he took his hat and traveling cloak off, his eyes met Draco's, and Draco immediately froze midwalk to the front door.  After giving his hat and traveling cloak to a nearby servant, he smiled charmingly and kissed Pansy's hand, which earned him a blush.  After repeating the same action with Ginny and watching them leave, he strode over to Draco and held out his hand.

            "Lord Malfoy, I presume?  I am pleased to meet you," Blaise said in flawless English.

            "Lord Zabini, likewise.  I admire your English," Draco replied in perfect French.

            "Oh?  Why thank you, Lord Malfoy.  And please, call me Blaise," he responded in French.

            "I am honored to.  Please call me by Draco."

            "Draco…"Blaise murmured.  "A fascinating name, wouldn't you say?" he asked, his lips near Draco's ear.  Draco kept his face stoic, though his heart raced wildly.

            "Blaise…Your library is most enchanting.  The many books I found were quite stimulating to my mind."

            Blaise drew back and laughed.  "Ah, yes.  I found those books interesting as well, which is why I purchased them.  However, will you excuse me?  I just came from several days of travel, and it would be best if I freshen up."

            "Oh, of course," Draco said, mentally chiding himself.

            "_Bon. Doux est le mieux savouré frais, après tout,_" Blaise replied, and he headed for the stairs, leaving a bemused Draco to ponder over his words.

Step Six

Association

            The xanthochroid headed for the library, and after lunch, Blaise joined him, dressed in a fresh suit of clothes.

            "If you like any of my books particularly, you may have them," Blaise told Draco, sitting next to him and sipping tea.

            "Oh, I couldn't," Draco replied, putting the book down on the glass table between their couches.  Blaise picked the book up, and he extended Draco's hand towards him before opening it and setting the book into the blonde's open hand.  His fingers then curled Draco's over the book, and their eyes met across their hands.

            Draco was in a haze.  Blaise's touch ignited a fire within him.  He was breathless like a virgin on her wedding night, and he wanted more, much to his horror.  Blaise's blue eyes held something akin to a predatory glint, and everytime their eyes met, Draco felt a bond, a connection, flame up between them, and he wanted to know what it was.

            The burn of Blaise's skin left his own, and Draco found himself clutching the book, Blaise smiling amiably at him.  "_Do take what you like, Draco," he said, and Draco detected the hint of an offer beneath the seemingly innocent words._

            "Then I thank you for your kindness, Blaise.  Also, Father and Mother send their regards."

            "Oh?  I am honored to receive regards from personages such as your parents.  Please send my regards back."

Step Seven

Invitation

            A comfortable silence lapsed between the two men.  Draco reopened the book and began reading, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Blaise watching him.  Draco pretended that nothing was amiss, and he saw an almost feral grin spread across the other man's face.

            Someone knocked on the door, and after Blaise said, "Enter", a maid came into the library.

            "Dinner is ready, Lord Zabini," she said timidly.

           "Good," Blaise replied.  "Come, Draco," he turned to the blonde, and rising, extended a hand towards the door.  Draco rose from his seat and mimicked Blaise, who led the way to the dining room.

            A sumptuous dinner was served, and Draco was about to head to his room when Blaise interfered with a request, not that Draco really minded much as he had not much to occupy his time.

            "Would you like to stroll with me on the grounds?"  Blaise asked, his eyes shining.  Knowing that he would be considered impolite to deny the offer as he had no excuse and not wanting to refuse, either, Draco accepted Blaise's request.

            "Did Ginny show you the grounds already?" Blaise asked as they walked on a clear-cut path across a lush meadow, the slowly setting sun in front of them and staining the sky a fiery orange.

            "Yes, she did.  Your wife is a lovely hostess, if I do say so myself," Draco replied honestly, turning to look at the other man.  Blaise only smirked.

            "You don't know the half of it," he said smugly, mouth twisted into a sneer, and Draco wondered if Blaise was indeed suggesting what he thought he was.  Blaise, however, said no more on the subject and continued walking, leaving Draco to ponder over his phrase as they strolled through the grounds.

Step Eight

Intention

            The rest of the stroll went by peacefully, and Draco found himself in Blaise's private study afterwards.  The room was stacked full of books, and in the center of the side opposite the door stood a magnificent mahogany desk, papers, quills, and inkbottles arranged neatly on top of the smooth wooden surface.

            Blaise led him to a glass table by a couch that sat opposite the writing desk, and he placed two chairs opposite each other around the table.  He motioned for Draco to sit, then retrieved a small, golden key from a pocket on his vest, opened a drawer of the desk, and took out a transparent object.

            After setting everything up on the table, Blaise smiled at Draco, and if he had not seen Blaise in the library, Draco would have thought that Blaise was quite innocent.  "You do play chess, do you not?" he asked.

            "Of course," Draco replied.

            "Good," Blaise said back, still smiling.  Draco found himself admiring the glass chess set with the skillfully carved pieces and the minute detail on them.  And though the chess set was indeed beautiful, it was nothing like Blaise's beauty, which he saw everytime he looked down at the board to move his pieces as the clear board reflected Blaise's features; though the other's features were distorted, Draco, who had been raised to admire beauty, could still discern the pulchritude in the specimen before him.  However, he refused to allow Blaise's haunting beauty deter him from the matter at hand—winning the game.

            He had expected Blaise to be a difficult opponent, and he was correct, but he soon found that Blaise was much more difficult than he had thought at first.  Blaise was cunning, setting traps without his notice, causing Draco to almost fall into several of them.  The blonde narrowly escaped checkmate several times.

            Then, all of a sudden, Draco found himself with no moves left.  He looked up to see a half-smile, half-smirk on Blaise's face, which strangely enhanced his host's natural beauty.  "Checkmate," Blaise said smoothly.  "You were a worthy opponent, Draco.   I have not played such a game of chess in years."

            "You beat me," Draco said, more of an exclamation than a statement.  "I have never lost before.  Malfoys always and only win."

            "Yes, but what a Zabini wants, he gets," Blaise replied, smirking, and Draco had a feeling that this chess game was just another part of a larger plan.   Though he knew it deep inside, Draco's mind refused to acknowledge the truth.  For now.

            "The night is late, Draco.  I suggest you retire and have a good night's rest.  Would you like to go hunting tomorrow?"

            Draco knew that he would be unable to refuse the offer even if he tried, plus he did not want to.  Blaise intrigued him greatly with his sly methods and exotic beauty, and Draco found himself wanting to know more about Blaise, to feel his skin, to…No, he was not going to go there.

            "Yes, I would be pleased to.  Take care, Blaise."

            "Good night, Draco."

Step Nine

Intoxication

            Draco could not fall asleep.  His mind was filled with images of Blaise, smirking, smiling, sneering, but always with a feral glint in his eyes, as if Draco was his prey that he was waiting for the right time to capture, as if they were merely playing a game of cat and mouse at this present moment.  And when Draco's eyes finally closed as he succumbed to sweet slumber that he thought would rid his mind of Blaise, at least for the time being, he dreamed of the other gentleman.

            _Blaise smiled at him, saying, "What I want, I get, Draco."  He then stepped forward and pressed his soft, smooth cheek against Draco's, whispering into the blonde's ear, "Wouldn't you say, my dear Lord Malfoy?"_

_            Blaise drew his face back, and his hands started unbuttoning Draco's vest.  Draco made to protest, but Blaise placed a finger against his lips, effectively silencing him.  "Shh…Draco, you don't really want me to stop, do you?" Blaise asked._

_            Thoughts of the immorality, infidelity, and disgrace of this situation ran through Draco's mind, but he found that he did not _want _Blaise to stop.  He wanted Blaise to be against him, on him, in him…he wanted _Blaise, period.__

_            "Don't," his mouth croaked against his will.  Blaise smirked_, and just as he resumed his slow stripping of Draco, Draco found himself awake and gasping for air, the soft, feathery touch of Blaise's fingers still lingering on his chest.

Step Ten

Contemplation

            What was wrong with him?  He was married, he could not possibly be even thinking of having an extra-marital affair.  An affair with a man, nonetheless, especially the man who was his host and the husband of his wife's best friend.  Yet he wanted Blaise badly, wanted to hold the beauty that was Blaise in his arms and be on him and taste him and in him and around him and oh…Forget the Pope and his teachings.  It was _wrong, yet it was so __right._

            But no, no, he had to be out of his mind.  He barely knew Blaise, first of all, but Blaise…Blaise didn't care about such trivial details.  In fact, he would say that Blaise was seducing him…No, no, no.  Draco shoved the thought out of his mind and resumed sleeping, though he tossed and turned the rest of the night, as if his heart was warning him that he could not deny the truth.

Step Eleven

Aggression

            The next morning, after a hearty breakfast, the ladies left to go shopping.  Blaise led Draco to the stables to pick a horse.  Blaise went to a black stallion and stroked the horse's mane, then climbed onto the horse with ease.  Draco headed for a mahogany stallion.

            "Good choice, Draco.  Thunder is one of the best stallions on this estate," Blaise said, and Draco climbed smoothly onto the horse.  A servant rode up to Blaise with two rifles and the hounds on leashes.  Blaise's horse headed outside regally, Draco following and the servant bringing up the rear.

            When they were near the outskirts of the forest, Blaise nodded to the servant, who climbed off his horse, opened the iron gates, which Blaise said was to prevent the animals from escaping, and set the hounds loose.  Blaise urged his horse after the hounds, Draco also chasing after the hounds.

            They were soon in front of a cornered boar, who was snorting angrily.  Blaise held his hand out to the servant, who had followed them.  The servant handed him a rifle, then rode over to Draco and handed him the other firearm.  Draco took aim and fired, and though the bullet hit the boar, it did not kill him but instead, enraged the beast even more.  It charged at Thunder, who bucked Draco off and turned tail, galloping away.  Just as the boar reached Draco, who had hit a tree and was now unconscious, a second gunshot rang out through the clear day, and the boar fell to the ground, blood trickling out of its fatal wound and seeping into the dirt.

Step Twelve

Consideration

            Blaise handed the rifle back to the servant before directing his horse to Draco.  He climbed off and kneeled in front of Draco, and he put an arm around Draco's back, propping the limp body up.

            "Louis, help me get him onto Lightning."  Louis quickly climbed off his horse and ran to Draco, and between the two men, they were able to hoist Draco onto Lightning in front of Blaise, who had already climbed onto the equine to better situate Draco.  Blaise grabbed the reins, arranged Draco's head against his shoulder, and then set off urgently for the manor.

            When Blaise arrived at the manor, he had servants help him carry Draco into his private bedroom.  After ordering them out to retrieve warm water and bath accessories, he slowly stripped Draco of his clothes.  Blaise's blue eyes lingered on Draco's groin longer than necessary before he put Draco's arm around his shoulder, wrapped his own arm around the xanthochroid's waist, and slowly hefted Draco to the private bathroom adjoining his bedroom.

            Blaise laid Draco in the porcelain tub and impatiently waited for the servants to arrive with the water.  When they did arrive, Blaise scolded them for their slowness while they poured the water into the tub.  One servant stayed behind as the rest left, and he held a tray of assorted bath salts, oils, and other similar items.

            Blaise surveyed all the items on the tray before reaching for a vial of oil that he knew would calm and soothe the senses.  After ordering the servant away and closing the door, he stripped down to his undershirt and pants and poured a bit of the oil into the tub.

            Draco awoke to find himself in a tub full of warm water and a pleasant scent wafting in the air around him.  He sighed, contented, even though he had no knowledge of how or why he was in the tub.

            "You are awake?" the blonde heard someone ask.  Draco turned to the side to see Blaise watching him intently, dressed in only his underwear.

            "What happened?" he asked.

Step Thirteen

Devotion

            "You don't remember?"  Blaise continued when Draco shook his head.  "We were hunting, and we had cornered a boar.  You shot it but didn't kill it.  In doing so, you angered the beast, and it charged at you.  Thunder threw you off, you hit your head against a tree, and I took you back."

            "Thank you, Blaise…but I doubt all this is necessary," Draco replied, gesturing to the bathroom in general.

            "Of course it is.  I filled this tub with special oil to sooth you, and I wouldn't trust any of my servants near you."

            Draco opened his mouth again to tell Blaise that all his efforts had been quite unnecessary though most appreciated, but when he saw Blaise's dangerously glittering eyes, he decided to just thank his host.

            Blaise smiled before picking up a sponge and scrubbing Draco's arm.  Draco looked at him, shocked…Blaise was doing servant's work, not that he wasn't enjoying it, but still…

            "I…I can't accept this, Blaise.  This is servant's work, and I cannot allow you to degrade yourself for me," Draco said.

            "I refuse to let a mere servant handle the matters right now," Blaise replied with a finality to his tone, and he resumed scrubbing Draco gently, hand _accidentally_ brushing against Draco's bare arm and causing the blonde to shiver inside.

            "You should change into more suitable clothes then.  I wouldn't want your clothes to be ruined at my expense, especially as you have done enough for me, and I none for you."

Step Fourteen

Temptation

            Blaise smirked before slowly, very slowly, taking off his undershirt and trousers with a sensual air to them, knowing that Draco was watching his bare skin intently.  "Is this better?" he asked with a smirk.

            Draco felt a rush of blood to his face and to his groin, and he fought the inane urge to look at Blaise's crotch and arouse himself even more with forbidden temptations.  He was extremely thankful that he had no noticeable arousal (as of now), as Blaise could very easily see it and take the wrong hint, perhaps even taking him right then and there.  "If this better suits you," he managed to choke out, trying to sound regal and indifferent.

            "I could think of many better things that would better suit me," Blaise purred, "but I won't mention them."  He smirked again, grabbed the sponge, and resumed his gentle bathing of Draco.

            Draco relaxed into Blaise's touch, and though many unthinkable thoughts ran through his head, he made no effort to stop them.  His mind could do nothing to stop the torrent of emotions within him, and it just felt so _good and __right, as if he was a hero on a quest who had finally found the treasure that he was seeking._

            The blonde opened his quicksilver eyes with his resolve set.  If Blaise was indeed doing what he thought he was, and Draco was quite sure that Blaise was trying to seduce him, then he would just simply turn this game around to his favor, and doing that was a very easy task for someone like him.

Step Fifteen

Revelation

            Blaise had begun scrubbing his chest, though his eyes were on Draco's.  They stared at each other, each refusing to lose to the other in this game.  Draco closed his eyes after a while, and Blaise smirked, thinking that he had won.  Then, Draco's eyes were right in front of him, the xanthochroid's lips pressed tightly against his own.

            Blaise drew back first, smirking.  "I never thought you had the guts, Draco."

            "Malfoys never lose," came the curt reply. 

            "But this is more than just a game, Draco," Blaise said, smiling, and Draco saw a hint of smugness in the smile.  Damn, had he calculated Blaise wrong and made a wrong move?

            "Oh?  Then what is this?" he asked, not letting Blaise see or hear his self-doubt.

            Blaise leaned forward until his lips were against Draco's, though there were no passion, no affection, in those lips.  "This is will.  And you may think you have the upper hand, Draco, but you are wrong.  This is more than just a game, and the stakes are much higher.  And I don't intend to stop until I get what I want."

            With his statement done, Blaise drew away from Draco.  He tossed the sponge nonchalantly into the tub before leaving the bathroom, naked.  The raven-haired man didn't even bother to close the bathroom door behind him to ensure Draco privacy.  Draco could only stare at the open door, mind numb and trying to contemplate how he had all of a sudden lost even before whatever they were doing was through.

~~~

Translations:

_Cieux de Paradis_ - Paradise Skies

_Rose Aube_ - Rose Dawn

_Avec amour_ - With love

_Bon. Doux est le mieux savouré frais, après tout._ - Good.  Sweets are best savored fresh, after all.


	2. Stage II: Sanguine

Title:  Autumn Leaves

Author name and e-mail: mistykasumi at SeducerofFantasy@hotmail.com

Pairing:  Draco/Blaise

Summary: When Draco Malfoy visited France, he never thought that he would meet anyone like Blaise Zabini.  The two men slowly draw each other into a game of seduction that becomes much more than what they had originally bargained for and finally make their way into each other's hearts.  A.U. , set in France before the French Revolution.  Response to Coil challenge for June 2003.

Rating: R

Category:  Romance

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters and objects. They belong to J. K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Inc., Warner Bros, and anyone else with copyrights. I only own the plot of this story and any original items, characters, spells, and any other original objects not found in any of the published HP books (including the two minis).

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Stage II

Sanguine

Step One

Crimson

            Blaise left Draco in his bathtub as he stormed off, annoyed.  _He was the one who initiated the game, the one who started the torrent of emotions in Draco.  And he would be the one to make the blonde break._

            It had originally started as a simple game of seduction.  Blaise never loved Ginny.  In fact, the only reason he tolerated her was because his idiotic parents had married the disgusting Weasley to him, and it would look very suspicious if she turned out dead after the other deaths in the family.  And by one such act, the Zabini blood would forever be sullied and tainted.

            He had paid no attention to his wife when she told him that the Malfoys were coming.  All Malfoys had the characteristic trait of arrogance, as if they were the oldest, purest, and noblest of the aristocracy when the Zabini line was just as old, when generations ago, Zabini blood entered Malfoy veins.  And though the Malfoys did have many connections, they were not completely invincible.

            So of course, Blaise was pleasantly surprised to arrive home and find an extremely handsome man in his residence.  And from when he first exchanged words with Draco, he could discern the telltale trait of arrogance, yet the blonde was far humbler and generous than he had thought, though his arrogance still managed to seep through and manifest in many situations, especially in the minutes before.

            While before, Blaise only sought to make Draco his, the Malfoy's blatant display of arrogance made him decide that he would not rest until he had broken Draco, broken a _Malfoy, and shown him the meaning of utter humiliation and helplessness._

Step Two

Indigo    

            When Blaise stepped into the dining room, Draco was already seated at the other end of the table, and though the blonde looked as if nothing was amiss, Blaise could feel the faint radiation of nervousness coming from Draco.

            "Draco, are you alright?  I do hope the bath suited you," he said smoothly, pretending that the last scene in the bathroom had not occurred.

            "I cannot thank you enough for what you did, Blaise," Draco said, also pretending that nothing had happened, though Blaise could hear faint sarcasm and bitterness creep into the blonde's voice.  So he had gotten to Draco after all.  Good.

            "I'm glad then," Blaise said.  "Bring up the main course," he addressed to the servants.

            Two maids came into the dining room moments later with a large silver plate, a large silver dome-shaped lid on top of the plate.  A slightly pungent smell wafted from the plate, and Blaise saw Draco wrinkle his nose quickly.

            "Place it by Lord Malfoy," Blaise told the maids, who set the course in front of Draco's plate.  Draco, though, could not look away for fear of rudeness and offending his host, as Blaise knew.  "Now open it."

            A maid pulled the lid off, revealing a large boar.  Its legs were tucked underneath it, its eyes were closed, its flesh had been cooked to a deep brown, and in the dead beast's mouth was a red apple, keeping the jaws open.  Surrounding the animal in a circle were herbs.

            "Give Lord Malfoy the first serving," Blaise commanded the maid.  She carved a piece of meat from the boar's back and set it on Draco's plate.

            Blaise watched disgust quickly flicker in Draco's eyes before the blonde, looking straight into Blaise's sapphire eyes, cut a small piece of the flesh and put it in his mouth, and Blaise knew that he had Draco right where he wanted the blonde.

Step Three

Navy

            Blaise had the maid serve him next, and as he chewed on the rough meat, staring into Draco's eyes, the blonde ordered another serving.  Between the two of them, they finished the entire boar in a game of sorts, neither willing to lose.

            When lunch was finished, Blaise excused himself first and left.  As he headed to his private study, he felt Draco following him.  Moments later, Draco caught up to him, and he swiftly pinned Blaise's front against a wall, though he did not restrain Blaise's hands.

            "What was that about?" growled Draco into his ear, and Blaise was pleased to have unnerved him.  Blaise leaned his back until he could press his cheek against Draco's.  Draco's weight loosened a bit at the unexpected contact, and Blaise quickly put Draco's head in a headlock, spun around, and pinned Draco back first against the wall his chest had been pressed against seconds ago, holding Draco's wrists above the xanthochroid's head in one hand.

            He leaned forward and nibbled on Draco's earlobe, eliciting a moan from the unwilling mouth of the blonde beneath him.  Draco's eyes flashed angrily, and Blaise's mouth traveled up to Draco's ear.  "Don't play games with me, _love.  You can't win."_

Step Four

Brown

            Blaise stepped away from Draco and let go of the blonde's wrists.  Draco's cheeks were tinged with a slight pink, and he rubbed ruefully at his wrists, eyes glaring at Blaise but also betraying his lust.

            "I've contacted your grandparents, and they say we may visit tomorrow."

            "We?" Draco asked incredulously.

            "Of course _we_.  I would like to meet members of _my family, after all."_

            "You don't own me," Draco said quietly and resolutely.

            "Are you sure?" Blaise asked, smirking.

            "Of course.  You have not claimed me yet, Blaise."

            "_Yet, you say?" Blaise asked, still smirking.  He watched as Draco's eyes flashed at his mistake.  "My dear, do you know that you and I are related?"_

            "Related?" Draco asked incredulously, and Blaise noted a hint of panic in his voice.

            "We are fifth cousins.  My great-great-great-great-aunt married into the Malfoy line, becoming your great-great-great-grandmother.  Thus, your grandparents are my relatives as well, and I have the _right to visit them as much as you do.  Aren't you glad to know that besides lusting after a man even though you're already married, you're wanting your own flesh and blood as well?"_

Step Five

Ruby

            Blaise watched as the pink in Draco's cheeks became more pronounced.  He stepped forward, and Draco stepped back with him until the blonde hit the wall.

            The raven-haired man closed the distance between them, reaching an arm out to cup Draco's cheek.  Draco stared at him resolutely, not willing to back down, and Blaise grinned.

            "Ever the Malfoy, my dear.  And thus, it doesn't matter, does it, Draco?  Your body and heart," here, Blaise placed a hand on Draco's heart, "know what you want, and your mind's attempts to override them always conclude fruitless.

            "Your body and heart don't analyze the identity of the one they choose, it is only your mind that is meddlesome enough to do so.  Though no matter what they choose, male, female, cousin, father," here, he saw Draco's eyes widen just the tiniest bit, "your mind has no power over them.

            "Tell me, Draco, am I better than your father?  Am I more beautiful, more manipulative, more sadistic?" Blaise whispered against Draco's lips before kissing him roughly, forcing his tongue into Draco's mouth and biting and bruising the blonde's lips.

            It could hardly be called a kiss.  It was more of a fight, their tongues dueling with each other and teeth attacking soft lips.  They stared into each other's eyes the whole time, Draco's grey orbs in turmoil and murky while Blaise's were clear, emotionless.  Blaise's hands went around Draco's neck while the blonde clutched his fists in Blaise's hair.

            Blaise drew away first, hands still linked around Draco's neck, and he noted satisfactorily that a thin trickle of blood slid from Draco's pale lips.  He leaned forward, and as Draco prepared himself for another bloody duel, Blaise, instead, licked the trail of blood up, tongue resting on Draco's lips for one split moment before returning back to his mouth.

            "So tell me, Draco, am I better than your father?"

Step Six

Cyan

            "What has my father to do with this?" Draco asked arrogantly, but Blaise saw his overcast eyes flicker.

            Blaise leaned forward again, and pressing his cheek against Draco's once more, he said, "Draco, dear, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about."  Blaise wrenched away, glaring at Draco.

            "He took you, dirtied you, and gave me the leftovers.  Don't think I wouldn't know, Draco.  It's a long-lasting tradition in many aristocratic lines."

            "Then you should have experience firsthand, shouldn't you?" Draco asked coldly.

            Blaise ploughed on, refusing to acknowledge Draco's question.  "He used it to train you, to turn you into a Malfoy, cold, hard, and cruel.  And it worked well enough, didn't it?"

            "As if you are not what I am, Blaise," Draco stated.

            "I am _not_.  We may share blood, but I will always be different.  The Zabini line started as assassins before achieving favor with ancient rulers, who gave us our title of nobility.  Our blood is nothing short of _evil.  Malfoy blood is characterized by manipulation, coldness, __loyalty, and arrogance.  Zabini blood is full of death, betrayal, guises, and _will_._

            "I had no need to be toughened up, Draco, unlike you.  I was born like this."  Blaise grinned, though his eyes remained cold and fierce.  "You were _made cruel, I was born cruel, and that is our difference, my dear._

            Your father slept with you to mould you into a true Malfoy, cold, calculating, stoic, haughty, and ever so loyal to the family.  He gave you pain and refused to stop giving you pain until you had mastered how to conquer such a fickle emotion, how to stand strong and pretend that you felt nothing, that it did not hurt you.  But you did love him, did you not, Draco?  In the last days, it was more out of love than teaching you.  He loved you back, you know, but in the end, he had to go back to his wife, whom he also loved, and leave you to your new wife.

            "I slept with my father to kill him, as he had done to my grandfather.  After passion, as my grandfather lay sweating and gasping and recovering, my father plunged a dagger into his back.  I did the same thing with him; in fact, I even used the same dagger that he used to kill his father.  He had forgotten about karma in his old age.  My mother committed suicide the day after.  She actually loved the old fool and refused to live without him.  Though by then, I could no longer stop my impending marriage to that disgusting Weasley, but I've never touched her, unlike you with your wife."

            Draco whispered, "You…murdered your own flesh?"

            "Of course.  He was becoming too proud, thinking that he could _control_ me.  Zabinis don't do well caged, especially if they're kept from what they want."

Step Seven

Orange

            "I guess I've finally met a _respectable_ gentleman," Draco said, his mouth curving up to something almost resembling a smile, though it was too sinister to be called by such an innocent word.

            "Oh?" Blaise asked, looking at him intently.

            "You're not the only one who's stained his hands with blood."

            Blaise arched an eyebrow.  "Do tell."

            "I was originally engaged to Pansy's older sister, Daisy.  She was quite ugly," Draco drawled, "with thick, curly brown hair, large eyes that could barely stay in her face, a long nose, and large, disgustingly wet lips.  Also, she was always eating, and she could barely fit into the door of a carriage.  She was deathly in love with me, while I despised the pig with the deepest loathing.  I could not marry such an ugly woman, of course, as it would not look well in society.  Besides, the family fortune was to land into her younger sister Pansy's hands.  Why only take a dowry of several thousand pounds when I could have it all?

            "Several months before our marriage, my parents held a ball.  I excused myself to my room early into the evening, saying that I felt a bit ill, which immediately discouraged the ugly girl's attempts to follow me because she caught diseases very easily.  She usually tried to corner me and force me to snog her, which is, of course, something I would never lower myself to.  I then sneaked back down and lured Daisy away from the manor when she went looking for the kitchens to have the chefs prepare her some food as the snacks had already been taken away.  The silly girl was drunk as well, which made it even easier.  I accosted her in a hallway, told her that if she followed me, I would show her something very special, and, of course, the stupid cow followed me.  I strangled her with her own handkerchief on the outskirts of the hunting grounds and then threw her dead body over the gates, then sneaked back into my room.

            "Of course, when she could not be found, I was given the sad news, and I lamented greatly over my fiancée's loss.  The engagement was immediately changed by our parents so I would marry Pansy, and since her mother had never borne any sons except stillborns, the Parkinson fortune landed into Pansy's hands, and it was added to the Malfoy funds."

Step Eight

Yellow

            Blaise smirked.  "You always manage to surprise me, Draco.  I never thought you could have the heart or the maliciousness."

            "She was ugly.  Besides, she never meant anything to me.  The marriage had been for money originally anyway, so why not get rid of something unwanted and get more money in the process?  Daisy's dowry was ten times less than what her parents should have paid to get her off their hands and into mine, and she was never worthy of anything except a pig."

            "Is Pansy worthy of you then?  Does she mean anything to you?" Blaise asked, eyes burning brightly.

            Draco laughed derisively.  "Of course not.  Her money was the only thing that I was after.  True, she is not bad-looking, but there are better women out there."

            "Oh?  Then why did you sleep with her?" Blaise asked, arching an eyebrow.

            "Why not?" Draco asked back.

            Blaise merely smirked before asking with a strange expression in his eyes, "Am I worthy of you then?  Do I mean anything to you?"

            He saw a peculiar expression flicker in Draco's eyes before Draco said coldly, "You are worthy of me, that I will admit, but you mean nothing to me, Blaise.  You are unfit."

            Blaise smirked.  "Don't be _too sure of your words."  He then leaned in and kissed Draco roughly before walking down the hall and away from Draco, whose eyes he could feel staring after him._

Step Nine

Violet

            After breakfast the next day, Blaise led Draco outside to the carriage waiting in the driveway.  They were both dressed in their finest, and the weather could not be better, the sun shining brightly and lazy white clouds drifting listlessly over the clear, cerulean sky.

            The carriage was white, and the Zabini crest of a bloodstained dagger with sanguine droplets dripping down onto a young sapling adorned the door.  A servant opened the door for the two gentlemen.  Blaise, ever courteous (he was a gentleman; evil, yes, but nonetheless, a gentleman), let his guest enter the carriage first before following him into the warm interior.  When they were both inside and seated, the servant shut the door, and the carriage set for _Rose Aube._

            "Have you ever met your grandparents?" Blaise asked while his hand drifted toward Draco.

            "Of course, Father and Mother took me when I was still young to visit them," Draco replied.

            "Good."  Blaise smiled before placing his left hand against Draco's cheek, feeling Draco involuntarily stiffen beneath him.  "What is it, _amant?" he asked sweetly, smirking._

            "Blaise," Draco hissed, "we're in public.  What if someone catches us?"

            "As if they would dare to say anything about _us_.  We, _mon_ cher_, are both from the most powerful bloodline in the aristocracy.  No one would be foolish enough to spread this even if they did discover us, and I assure you, we shall be fine."_

            "Blaise, please," Draco hissed.  "If you don't do whatever you want to do to me right now, then I'll be good when we return to _Cieux de Paradis, I promise."_

            "Really?" Blaise asked, arching an eyebrow.  Draco nodded.  "Your offer is tempting, Draco…but it's _much_ more fun this way, wouldn't you say, dear?" And saying so, Blaise attacked Draco's lips, forcing them apart and dominating the blond, who forgot about everything except Blaise as soon as their lips touched.  Draco moaned into the kiss, enjoying the forbidden treat.

Step Ten

Green

            By the time the two men arrived at _Rose Aube_, both were aroused, not physically but mentally by their passionate and painful snog, the risk of being discovered making the kisses more pleasurable.

            It was with great reluctance that the two exited the carriage and stepped onto the grounds of _Rose Aube_.  The butler stood, waiting for them, and at the sight of the two men, he quickly scurried over to them.

            "Lord Malfoy, Lord Zabini, my Lord and Lady are waiting for the two of you in the gardens.  Please follow me."

            The butler led them through the exquisitely decorated house before taking them out the back door.  He led them onto one of several paths winding through the cleanly-cut grass and bushes, and after several minutes' walk, they arrived at a clearing in the center of the gardens, where Draco's grandparents sat, waiting for them, servants fanning them because the sun shone high in the sky.

            They stood up at Blaise and Draco's arrival, and handshakes and the kissing of a hand went all around as formal and polite introductions commenced.  Once the required etiquette had been exhausted, the four sat down.

            "Would you like some tea?  Perhaps some crêpes?"  Lady Malfoy asked.

            "I'd be delighted to," Blaise replied, and Lady Malfoy sent two maids away to retrieve the refreshments.

            "Draco, it's been years since we have seen you," Lady Malfoy said.  "How has England been?"

            "England has been good.  I've learned much from the schools I've attended, though I have missed France very much.  Father and Mother are in good health, and they send their regards."

            "Tell them that we would like them to visit, would you, Draco?  It has been so long since either of them set foot in France.  Why they left Mother France is beyond me," Lady Malfoy said, and she then turned to Blaise.  "And how are you, Lord Zabini—"

            "Please, call me Blaise," the raven-haired man said.

            "Blaise, how are you?  Is Draco behaving?" she asked with a half-smile, half-smirk.

            "Draco is quite the scholar and gentleman," Blaise replied.  "He was ever so lovely to my wife when I was away on business.  He has been a very good chess partner, a very good person to discuss politics with, and a very good hunting partner."

            The refreshments arrived then, and as they all picked up their teas, pausing in the conversation, Blaise snaked a hand to Draco, gently rubbing his inner thigh.  He felt Draco's body stiffen at the intrusion, and over his tea, he saw Draco chance a glare towards him, knowing full well that he could do nothing to stop Blaise that would not attract attention.

            Finally, Draco cracked.  "May I please be excused?"

            "Oh, yes.  Pierre, show him where they are, will you?" Lady Malfoy addressed a servant, who led Draco away.

            "So, Blaise, how do you feel about the country right now?" Lord Malfoy asked.

            "I would say that we should be cautious.  Rebel fractions are gathering, and they are intent on overthrowing His Majesty."

            "Wise words for a young one," Lord Malfoy said.  "You have potential in you."

            "Thank you, sir.  May I please be excused, also?" asked Blaise.

            "Yes, you may," Lady Malfoy told him.  "Jean, come and lead him to where they are.  Oh my, I must inform the maids to put less water in the tea," Blaise heard her muttering as he walked away.

Step Eleven

Scarlet

            Jean led Blaise inside and told him to wait in front of an inconspicuous door.  Blaise dismissed him and stood outside, waiting, knowing that Draco would have gone inside to reduce suspicion.

            When Draco cautiously stepped out, Blaise immediately grabbed him.  Draco turned his head towards Blaise, and his eyes widened almost imperceptibly before Blaise led him deeper into the house.

            When he was sure that they were well away from spying eyes and ears, Blaise pinned Draco against the nearest wall and immediately sealed his mouth over Draco's.  The raven-haired man's hands moved up to entangle in Draco's hair, and Draco wrapped his arms around Blaise's waist, pressing their bodies closer together.

            The kiss was more of a duel than ever, both men fighting to dominate the other.  Lips were bruised, breaths were exhausted, and above all, their mental arousal had spread to their physical beings.  As they ground their hips together, the two gentlemen heard a scandalized scream from someplace near them.

Step Twelve

Red

            Blaise and Draco immediately detached themselves from their compromising position.  They turned to find Lord and Lady Malfoy standing by them, and it was obvious that Lady Malfoy was the one who had let loose the terrible scream.

            "You…you…unnatural…boy," she shrieked at Blaise, crazed, "corrupting my grandson into a…a…freak like you!  You…you…unnatural…"  The excitement of the moment finally caught up to her wizened mind and body, and she fainted.

            "Quick, retrieve smelling salts!" Lord Malfoy shouted at the servants, who immediately scampered away, too frightened to stay any longer and risk the Lord's wrath, no matter how nosy they were.  Once the servants had left the scene like skittery mice, the Lord turned to Blaise and Draco and began shouting at them.  "How dare the two of you perform such unnatural acts in _my_ residence?  How dare you corrupt our grandson?  How dare you put more stress on your grandmother's already fragile health?  Out, out, now," this he whispered with a soft hiss.  "Draco, you may never come onto this estate again until you've stopped this…this…abnormality for good."

            Blaise and Draco, taking their cue, immediately maneuvered out of the house, Draco leading the way as he was more familiar with _Rose Aube.  They quickly entered the carriage, and Blaise ordered the startled driver to leave immediately._

Step Thirteen

Blue

            As _Rose Aube_ faded into nothing but a vague shape in the distance, Blaise uncharacteristically cupped Draco's cheek in a gentle hold.  "They will not spread their discovery, Draco.  It'd be disgracing themselves at the same time."

            Draco did not respond, not even when Blaise traced the blonde's pale lips, though when Blaise leaned in for a kiss, Draco moved his hand to stop Blaise.  Without looking at the raven-haired man, Draco spoke.

            "I told you to not do anything in public, but did you listen, Blaise?  I told you that I would be good if you didn't do anything, but you didn't believe me completely, did you?  A Malfoy never breaks his word.  

            "No doubt Father and Mother will be notified, perhaps Pansy and Ginny, too.  I do not want to be seen as a deranged queer," here, he spat the word, "in my own house by my own family."

            "Oh, I don't think they will.  They'll realize that it's in their best interest to keep our tryst to themselves."

            "And how would you know that?" asked Draco.

            "It would raise a huge scandal the likes of which none would have seen before.  Do you think they would tell anyone else?  They wouldn't even trust your parents enough to not reveal this.  And once our _affair_ gets out, both of our bloodlines will be tarnished forever, prestige lost and wealth diminished.  Do you think they would risk the family?" Blaise asked.

            "Blaise, the less people who know the better, I know that.  But what if they only decide to tell our wives in an attempt to punish us and are able to swear them to secrecy?"

            Blaise laughed.  "Dear Draco, you still do not know?"

            "Know what?"

            Blaise laughed again.  "Pansy and Ginny, _mon__ cher.  They've been in an affair since a young age, years before their marriages to us.  Do you think they would care that we were together?  They'd just be glad that we wouldn't want our way with them," Blaise finished disgustedly._

            Draco stared at him incredulously.  "I always knew there was more to just the eye, but I never thought…"

            Blaise smirked.  "Oh, you should see them on a picnic.  They almost always end up in the lake, kissing each other."

            Draco stared at him again, and Blaise saw jealousy in the overcast irises.  "And how would you know?"

            Blaise smirked.  "I walked past them once accidentally, though they did not see me, thankfully."  Draco growled.  "_Mon cher_, you should know by now that I hold little interest in females, especially our wives.  They can have each other.  My prize is much better, after all.  He's much more beautiful, passionate, and intense."  _And he has an iron mask that can be penetrated by my will alone._

Step Fourteen

White

            "There's a ball tomorrow, Draco.  We've been invited along with our wives," Blaise told the blond as they stepped out of the carriage and headed to the front doors of _Cieux de Paradis_.

            Draco glared at him.  "Why do you never inform me earlier of social events?" he complained.

            "Why should I?" Blaise asked, grinning.  Draco did not answer.

            The two entered into Blaise's private study, where the raven-haired man carefully locked the door.  Draco sank elegantly onto a couch, and Blaise sat down beside him.

            "Today's been more exciting than I wished for," Draco said.  "In fact, it was _too exciting."_

            "And you managed to appear normal before we walked out of the front door."

            Draco laughed derisively.  "Any man can if he thinks of Daisy before him, naked and wanting to please him.  How did you do it?" he asked, realizing that Blaise had also accomplished the difficult feat.

            Blaise traced the contour of Draco's jaw before smiling at him.  "I used _will_, _amant_.  If a Zabini's will is strong enough, he can overcome all."

            "Oh?  Yet you still don't have me," Draco said haughtily.

            Blaise traced gently down Draco's neck before pressing his finger hard against Draco's throat, causing his guest to choke.  When he released pressure against Draco's throat, he whispered into the blonde's ear, "Do I not, _mon__ cher?"_

            Draco nodded.  Blaise merely smirked.

Step Fifteen

Silver

            After lunch, the two gentlemen went to the library.  Draco pulled out a book on philosophy and began reading intently, leaving Blaise to his thoughts.  Blaise thought that the blonde was trying to avoid him after the difficult question he had asked him, the question that his guest did not want to admit, especially to him.

            Blaise knew that he should have broken Draco by now, even if the xanthochroid steadfastly denied it.  After the torrent of events that had happened recently, Blaise could see no flaw in his foolproof plan.

            Blaise was sure that he had Draco eating out the palm of his hand, no matter how the blond vainly tried to hide it.  Blaise had analyzed Draco's personality from his every action and reaction, and he would not dare believe that his analysis was wrong.

            The raven-haired man knew that the surefire way to prove his success was to take a desperate and risky chance that could end the games once and all, and Blaise did not back down from anything, no matter how grave the risks.

            He spent the rest of the time before dinner discussing politics and philosophy with Draco so as not to arouse suspicion from his guest since they had discussions often, and after dinner, Blaise once again invited Draco along on a stroll.

            "Do you see the sun?  It's the sole source of natural light for all living things.  What do you think would happen if it just disappeared?  Blaise asked.

            "The sun can't _just_ disappear.  It's bound by the laws of physics, as are we."

            "But light is not.  What if your one light was to be snuffed forever, and you were the only one with a remote chance that could save it and rescue yourself from the eternal darkness its absence would bring?"

            Draco did not reply for a long time.  Finally, at the end of the stroll, he looked into Blaise's eyes, and grey eyes flickering oddly, said, "I would save it."  Blaise smiled, and as he led Draco into his private study, he became confident beyond no doubt about his plan.

            While Draco sat in his chair, waiting for Blaise to set up their nightly chess game that Blaise always won, Blaise retrieved something else instead.  He stood at the window above his writing desk, looking out into the night sky.

            When Draco made an impatient sound behind him, Blaise spun around, holding a dagger to his throat.  He saw alarm quickly flash onto Draco's face before the blonde regained his calm and asked, though Blaise could detect a hint of hysteria in his voice, "What are you doing, Blaise?"

            "Do you think that I would join the stars if I slit my throat using _Créateur__ Léger?  Stars are made of light, are they not, __mon__ cher?"_

            Blaise saw Draco gulp heavily, even though the action was barely perceptible, due to years of training with Lucius.  "Put _Créateur__ Léger down, Blaise," Draco said softly._

            "Give me a _bien_ reason to, _amant_," Blaise said quietly.

            "If you do, I give you me," Draco said with quiet desperation.

            Blaise shook his head.  "That not good enough.  _Au revoir, Draco," he whispered, softly dragging the dagger against the tender flesh of his neck._

            "Blaise, don't!  _Je t'aime!" Draco cried._

            Blaise's hand froze, and he stared at Draco.  The raven-haired man was vaguely aware that his hand was shaking.  Draco loved him?  He hadn't thought that he had affected Draco _that much._

            "What…did you say?" he asked softly, afraid of losing his voice if he spoke too loudly.  Draco stood in front of him, moonlight shining onto his pale features and causing him to look ethereal, angelic.  The glitter of what had to be tears in his eyes reflected clearly back to Blaise.

            "Cry for me, Draco," Blaise whispered.  And as the beautiful blonde in front of him collapsed onto the floor, kneeling and crying, Blaise felt a part of him alight in joy at finally breaking Draco, a Malfoy, though his heart felt as if it had been ripped into shreds, leaving him happy yet hollow and empty at the same time.

~~~

Translations:

_Amant_ - love

_Mon cher_ - My dear

_Créateur__ Léger - Light Creator_

_Bien_ - good

_Au revoir_ - Good-bye 

_Je t'aime_ - I love you.


	3. Stage III: Truth

Title: Autumn Leaves

Author name and e-mail: mistykasumi at SeducerofFantasy [at] hotmail.com

Pairing: Draco/Blaise

Summary: When Draco Malfoy visited France, he never thought that he would meet anyone like Blaise Zabini. The two men slowly draw each other into a game of seduction that becomes much more than what they had originally bargained for and finally make their way into each other's hearts. A.U. , set in France before the French Revolution. Response to Coil challenge for June 2003.

Rating: R

Category: Romance

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters and objects. They belong to J. K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Inc., Warner Bros, and anyone else with copyrights. I only own the plot of this story and any original items, characters, spells, and any other original objects not found in any of the published HP books (including the two minis).

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Stage III  
Truth

Step One  
Beauty

Draco didn't care, _couldn't _care anymore. He had just confessed to Blaise that he loved him, and he was now crying over, no, for Blaise, the manipulative, evil bastard that he had fallen in love with, somehow.

When had he fallen in love with Blaise? _How_ had he fallen in love with Blaise? How _could _he have fallen in love with Blaise, knowing the other man the way he did? From the very beginning, it had been a game, hadn't it? Hadn't Blaise said so for himself? How could he have taken it so seriously and weakened himself with _love_?

The blonde kept his head low. He could not dare to look at Blaise anymore, not after exposing himself so easily. He had become so weak over someone, but not just anyone. Blaise was the perfect specimen of beauty, a dangerous yet apathetic specimen. Draco saw the moonlight dancing before him, heard his own heavy breathing, and he knew Blaise also perceived them.

The next thing he knew, Blaise was kneeling in front of him, tilting his chin up. And as his host kissed his slowly diminishing tears away, the moonlight cast Blaise's face in enticing shadows, shadows playfully trying to lure Draco and make him submit to Blaise's whims even more than he already had.

Blaise looked up, eyes glimmering eerily. His thumb traced Draco's lips, sending shivers down the blonde's spine. "Mon cher…" he whispered before closing the distance between them and meeting Draco's lips with his own.

Step Two  
Sin

Blaise held Draco's face in his hands as he kissed him, as he took away Draco's very breath. Draco wrapped his arms around Blaise's neck, and when Blaise tugged at his lower lip, demanding entrance, Draco, without hesitation, submitted himself to Blaise, knowing that he could no longer deny the truth or himself to Blaise.

If the kiss was to be described in one word, the word would have to be sinful. No corner was left unexplored as they opened up to each other, tongues playful yet rough, the kiss demanding yet gentle.

Blaise broke the kiss first, smiling hungrily at Draco. He started leaving barely perceptible kisses down Draco's neck while his hands unbuttoned Draco's vest, and Draco felt the lingering essence of Blaise's fingers hovering above his chest.

They kissed again, even more sensual and passionate as they took their fill of each other. Blaise's hands busily unbuttoned Draco's undershirt as Draco pushed his vest up, fumbling with the buttons of his host's undershirt.

They broke the kiss, Blaise grinning as he slipped Draco's undershirt off. He shrugged off his own clothing and pressed his body against Draco's. By now, both were extremely aroused, and they gasped as their erections aligned with each other's.

Blaise then leaned forward and whispered into Draco's ear, "Would you not find it better if we relocate?" he asked, softly blowing into Draco's sensitive ear, a glint of something Draco couldn't define dancing eerily in his sapphire eyes.

Draco nodded mutely, and the two men gathered their clothes from the floor. Blaise watched Draco hungrily as they put on their shirts. Draco averted his face from Blaise partially in embarrassment and partially to avoid the predatory look Blaise always had when he was involved.

Step Three  
Paradise

Blaise opened the door of the study after the two of them were dressed and had erased all signs of their previous activities out of their bodies, at least, physically. The two gentlemen stepped into the hall.

Servants passed by Draco and Blaise as they walked down the hall and up the stairs to Blaise's private bedroom, eyes always cast down in submissive respect as they made themselves as unobtrusive and invisible as possible.

No one saw the two enter the room together. As soon as they were safely inside, Blaise immediately closed the door and locked it with a small brass key from his vest pocket. He then turned to Draco, who had been standing behind him, watching him with calm but not-quite-blankness in his eyes.

Blaise walked slowly to Draco, eyeing his prize with unsuppressed triumph. He ran a finger gently along the side of Draco's face and down to his still smooth chin, feeling a slight shiver run beneath him.

Blaise placed both of his palms underneath Draco's face and lifted it up, eyes roving over every beautiful detail. He closed his eyes and inhaled Draco's scent deeply, a mixture of rosewater and freshly-cut grass.

The overwhelming urge to wrap his arms around Draco and just lean against the blonde in front of him, holding him and being held, surfaced in Blaise's mind, but he blocked the thought away. He was not a sentimental person, and Draco was _just_ a toy, a challenge.

Keeping his eyes closed, Blaise leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss onto Draco's forehead before fluttering his eyes open. He saw Draco looking at him with something soft in his eyes, and he felt his heart melt for one single second before he regained his iron control over his emotions.

Blaise kissed down Draco's forehead, down his perfect nose, and skipping his lips, Blaise touched Draco's chin softly with his lips. Draco made an impatient sound, though Blaise ignored him.

Removing his hands from Draco's face, Blaise's fingers deftly repeated the process of removing Draco's vest and undershirt. They traced Draco's chest lightly, and fire raced up the sensitive digits.

Blaise leaned in and placed his lips on Draco's bare chest, lightly touching Draco's sensitive flesh. Draco moaned above him, and Blaise traced obscure patterns onto Draco's back, arousing the blonde before him even more.

Draco wrapped his fingers around Blaise's soft raven hair and pulled him back up until they were staring into each other's eyes, clear blue into pale grey. He pressed his cheek against Blaise's, both of their eyes gazing straight ahead.

Blaise found the softness of the gesture and the physical softness of Draco's cheek unbearable. The tenderness in the gesture was not done on purpose or even consciously. What had he _done_ to warrant Draco's unfounded _love_ for him? This had all been just a game, it wasn't meant to become something so serious!

Draco trailed his fingers softly down Blaise's throat before slowly unbuttoning Blaise's vest. With the same slow calmness and gentleness, he pushed it off of Blaise's shoulders, palms staying on Blaise's shoulders a bit longer than necessary, sending sparks into Blaise's nerves.

The blonde then proceeded to remove Blaise's undergarment with the same painful slowness, pausing each time a little longer than necessary on Blaise's cloth-covered chest, sending fire through his host's skin. Had Blaise not had iron control over himself, he would have resorted to begging Draco.

When Blaise and Draco were equally naked, Draco pressed himself against Blaise, bare skin against bare skin sending electricity down both of their veins. He planted small kisses down the side of Blaise's neck before turning his attention to the hollow at the base of Blaise's neck, sucking on it gently.

As Draco stopped his pleasurable administration to Blaise's neck, Blaise wrapped his arms around Draco's bare waist, fingers gently sweeping over the bare skin in a sensual movement that sent fire through both of them before he slowly walked them backwards.

He brought them to the four-poster bed, a beautifully crafted piece of mahogany with four extremely detailed spires supporting the canopy, a snake winding up each spire. A dragon stood proudly at the center of the headboard, wings stretched to their full extent and ready to fight any intruders. Partially-transparent crimson silk covered the canopy and flowed down three sides, masking the bed halfway.

Blaise pushed aside the silk screen and pulled Draco softly through and into the vicinity of the lushly-decorated bed. The snakes around the spires were crafted from emeralds, sapphires lined the top of the headboard, and onyx embodied the dragon at the top of the headboard, tiny rubies gleaming from its eyes. Tiny diamonds were embedded into the screen, shining brightly in the semi-darkness with the other gems, all competing for the glory of the most beautiful and eye-catching.

The covers on the bed were made of crimson silk, and rubies dotted the surface, betraying the wealth and the love of beauty of Blaise. Two pillows also made of crimson silk lay at the head of the bed. Small sapphires were embedded into one, the gems so deeply set into the pillow that if anyone ran his hand over the surface, he wouldn't be able to tell where the jewels ended and the cloth began. Diamonds were etched into the other pillow in the same manner, and the jewels gave the bed an untouchable, royal aura.

Blaise sat down on the bed, pulling Draco onto his lap and feeling the other's erection hard against his own. He raked his eyes over the pure marble skin of the beauty in front of him, admiring the flawless man straddling him.

He wrapped his arms around Draco's neck, fingers tangling with several long strands of near-gold hair. Blaise then fell onto the bed, pulling Draco on top of him. He felt the smooth coldness of the covers upon his back, gemstones and silk undistinguishable by mere touch.

Draco's blonde hair fell over his face as he looked down at Blaise, and Blaise felt the soft strands whispering gently upon his skin. A mixture of love and lust with a bit of tenderness swirled in Draco's mercury eyes, and Blaise found himself unable to look at them for too long because of the softness in them.

Blaise suddenly became acutely aware of Draco's heart beating against his own, and to his surprise, he found them to be beating at the exact same pace and rhythm. He looked back up into Draco's eyes and found Draco gazing steadfastly into his own. The interlocking gaze caused Blaise's heart to skip at the beauty inherent in the smoky grey that was Draco's eyes.

Blaise rolled the two of them across the lavish bed until he had Draco pinned underneath him. Draco's arms circled around his neck, and Blaise had already removed his arms mid-roll and now had his palms flat on both sides of Draco's head. He looked down at Draco, lying on the red silk. The sanguine covers bunched around him, and the rubies only helped to give stark contrast to Draco's xanthochroid features; Draco sprawled beneath him in such a way as to make him look more exotic, more enticing, more alluring, more desirable in every single way.

Draco was so beautiful. The pale wheat hair that all vain princesses could only _dream_ of slid smoothly between Blaise's fingers as he slid a hand through the fine strands, admiring their texture. He kept his cerulean gaze onto Draco's breathtaking faint grey eyes, the same color as the sky right before the sun rose again after a storm. Blaise then cupped his hand around one of Draco's cheeks, marveling at how the unblemished surface was even paler than his own light-colored skin. Draco's eyes fluttered when Blaise ran a thumb down the contour of his face, golden eyelashes giving Draco a seductive virgin appeal. No, Draco was not _handsome_. His beauty far exceeded the mere limits of the notion "handsome".

Blaise brushed away a few stray strands of golden sun that had fallen into Draco's eyes, and he did not notice the unintended gentleness of his gesture. He leaned forward and softly pressed Draco's eyelids down before planting a kiss over each stunning eye. Both men were now breathing heavily from their not-quite-foreplay, breathless from the gentle yet emotionally arousing touches they gave each other in addition to their erections waiting to be relieved.

Draco fluttered his eyes before opening them and gazing softly up at Blaise, looking like an angel, no, a god, with his pale, ethereal features. The way Draco lay, so submissive and trusting, pierced Blaise's heart. How _could_ Draco love him? Just how? Surely the beauty lying beneath him knew that he would not give himself over to love?

Easing his choked throat away with his will, Blaise leaned down until his lips were mere millimeters away from Draco's. He could feel Draco pant with anticipation, felt his own breathless gasps convey something he couldn't quite comprehend nor want to that was nagging in a corner of his heart.

He saw Draco close his eyes, readying himself for the moment when their lips touched and the world would cease to exist, along with all of its ridiculous rules that only trapped men like them. As he finally closed the tiny yet far too large distance between them, Blaise closed his clear cerulean gaze as well.

The long-tardy kiss was everything and nothing like what they had expected. The kiss was slow and soft at first, both men immersing themselves in the ecstasy the simple motion of skin against skin and flesh against flesh had created for them. As the freshness of pleasure began to ebb away from their minds, Blaise effortlessly gained entry into Draco, who met him halfway, and the deeper closeness instantly emitted more waves of bliss into their very souls. The wet heat of each other's mouths, the tongues that softly but passionately bantered with each other across their lips, every single aspect of the kiss brought the two men to a height they had only visited before with each other, a height that could not be surpassed.

Finally, the two parted with extreme reluctance, both breathing heavily from their small yet enormous, short yet not long enough, fiery yet gentle excursion with each other. Blaise tucked a strand of hair behind Draco's ear, murmuring, "Amant…"

Draco reached the corner of Blaise's right eye with his left thumb, gently sweeping the area. When he withdrew his thumb, Blaise saw that the tip of it was wet. How could he not have felt something moist trailing across his skin?

"Why are you crying?" Draco whispered. A torrent of overwhelming emotions tore through Blaise, none of them he wanted to identify. He had _not_ cried. Of course he hadn't. Draco was nothing more than an amusement to pass the time. The Malfoy beneath him did _not_ cause alien emotions to race through his heart, did not move and melt his iron will, and most certainly did _not_ draw Blaise into the tangled web known as _love_.

"I'm not crying. It's just sweat," Blaise replied, and even he himself did not believe in the words he had just said. Draco looked at him dubiously but did not comment on the obvious falseness of his statement. Instead, he settled for tracing Blaise's lips with his other thumb, his left hand gently cupping Blaise's face, and Blaise found the loving gentleness unbearable.

"Blaise…" Draco breathed, left thumb stroking Blaise's cheek. Blaise looked down at Draco's eyes, which were looking into his own with a startling intensity. The mercury gaze captivated Blaise, and he couldn't help but look into the clear grey glass instead of looking away, which was what he desperately wanted but could not bring himself to do.

Draco wrapped his arms around Blaise's neck and brought Blaise down so that he was lying on top of him. The blonde traced soothing circles onto Blaise's back with one hand while the other held Blaise's face. He felt Draco's erection pressing against his thigh, and Blaise heard Draco give an almost inaudible sigh.

"Mon cher…" Blaise began, but Draco placed his index finger gently across Blaise's lips, effectively stopping him from speaking. He then slid his hands down Blaise's smooth back, softly caressing the flawless skin.

Blaise pushed himself up until he was straddling Draco with his knees on both side of the blonde's hip. His index finger flowed down the center of Draco's chest before stopping at the top of his trousers. Blaise unwound the girdle and pulled the cloth off Draco's waist before working on the buttons keeping all of Draco from him. Likewise, Draco did the same to Blaise, removing his girdle and undoing the buttons of his trousers.

Blaise finished his work first, and he slid the trousers off of Draco, who helped by wriggling out of the garment. Blaise trailed a finger down perfect legs before he felt Draco pulling at his own trousers, and he helped the blonde remove the restrictive clothing.

The rest became, more or less, just a haze to Blaise. Licking, sucking, stroking, nipping, his senses were overwhelmed by the amount of pleasure Draco gave him. The blonde sent fire through his veins every place he touched, and Blaise even let go of his iron will due to the bliss coursing through him, moaning and _asking_, never begging, Draco for more.

Blaise could barely remember what he did to Draco, much less the tasks Draco performed on his body. He just remembered warm wet heat around him as Draco took the initiative while he tangled his fingers into the flaxen hair of the beauty beneath him, moaning at the pleasure Draco's wondrous mouth gave to him.

He barely remembered how he ended up inside Draco, with the blonde around him like a sheath moulded exactly for him. The experience was so different from the times he spent with his father, and Blaise knew that no one could ever make him feel the same way Draco did, make him almost willing to _beg_, even though the only other person that he had ever been with was his father, whom he hated with unrivaled passion.

The two reached paradise at the same time, breathless, with Draco whispering "Blaise" fleetingly, barely a stream of air against Blaise's ear, and Blaise collapsed gracefully on top of Draco, who wrapped his arms around him. The novelty of paradise began to fade after a while, though a haze of it still lingered in the two men's minds.

Step Four  
Glory

Blaise awoke later than usual, and he saw a sliver of sunlight penetrate the space between the curtains and spilling onto the floor. Though the silk screen blocked most of the light, the diamonds embedded in the cloth all shone with fervor as they caught the light, gaining the appearance of light-tarnished dew.

Blaise turned to look at Draco, who was still slumbering gently. In sleep, the blonde held the appearance of an ethereal being, an angel, who belonged in the paradise they had taken each other to, though Blaise knew that Draco was anything but an angel.

He slipped out from under the covers silently with practiced ease, taking care not to wake Draco. Retrieving a set of clean clothes, Blaise headed for the bathroom before realizing that he could not call the servants in with another person sleeping in his bed.

Turning back, he found Draco sitting in bed, watching him calmly with his quicksilver gaze through the screen. Their eyes met, and Blaise became breathless from staring into the mercury depths, though he kept his emotions under control, making his face appear stoic.

Draco slid out from under the covers easily and walked softly to Blaise, feet not making a single sound as they touched the floor. The two maintained their interlocked gaze the whole time.

The blonde stopped in front of Blaise, and he reached a hand out to cup Blaise's cheek, thumb idly tracing over the smooth skin. He then turned away and dressed himself, during which time Blaise unlocked the door. Draco gave Blaise one final look before he left for his own room, and Blaise stared after him as he walked away.

Step Five  
Façade

When Draco arrived back at his room, he was thankful that he and Pansy had asked for separate rooms during their stay at _Cieux de Paradis_. Otherwise, he would have had to endure her endless pestering about where he slept the previous night. However, he was certain that Pansy asked for separate rooms so she could sleep in Ginny's room without him knowing. What an ironic couple they made.

After bathing himself and putting on fresh clothes, Draco walked downstairs and into the dining room, where Blaise was eating a late breakfast as well. Blaise looked up as he slipped into the seat opposite his host before resuming his breakfast.

Draco rang the bell, and a servant immediately came in from the servant's door, head bowed humbly before the blonde. He told the servant to fetch breakfast, and the servant left immediately, not willing to suffer the wrath of Draco or Blaise, who would definitely more than merely reprimand him if he caused any disgrace to the household.

Blaise wiped his mouth daintily with a napkin before setting the soiled cloth to the side, sapphire glass meeting Draco's quicksilver orbs. Blaise's eyes appeared empty, but when Draco looked closer, he saw a torrent of emotions lurking beneath the deceptive surface. "How was your night, Draco?" Blaise asked pleasantly.

"I quite enjoyed the 'sleep' I received last night, Blaise," Draco replied, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. No matter how much he wanted to irk Blaise, he did not smirk because Draco did not want anyone to even have _suspicions_ that he and Blaise were more than just friends.

A half-smile appeared on Blaise's face, though his eyes still remained distantly opaque. Draco wondered how glorious, how beautiful, Blaise would look when he actually allowed a true smile to grace his face, lighting up his cold cobalt gaze, not the ones that still held a sardonic hint in them that he had given to Draco, the ones that did not light up his eyes as much a true smile could.

"I'm quite glad that you feel hospitable here," Blaise said pleasantly, and Draco wanted to be out of the presence of the filthy servants who were making their interaction too formal, too cold, too _unbearable_. He wanted to be with Blaise in a private setting, kissing and sucking and licking and biting and just _feel_ Blaise.

Breakfast ended, much to the relief of Draco, who thought he and Blaise could finally be alone together in the library. Pansy and Ginny entered the dining room, however, just as the two men prepared to leave for someplace more private.

The two ladies and the two gentlemen observed the mandatory etiquette for people of their stature. Pansy then turned to Draco, saying, "Draco, dear, you _must_ help me prepare for the ball tonight after lunch." Draco had no choice but to agree, though he cursed Pansy vehemently in an ungentlemanly manner in his mind for preventing him from spending more time with Blaise. After all, could _Ginny_ not help her?

After their wives left, Draco and Blaise left for the library. Neither Draco nor Blaise initiated any contact but, instead, merely discussed the last book Draco read, one about ancient Greek philosophies. It was as if they were testing each other to see who would break first.

"The highest good, as said by Aristotle, is happiness. The kind that is not attained by superficial objects put on show to display wealth. Simple objects can never bring anyone true happiness."

"Yes, but he says _all_ external goods are more of less necessary conditions."

"But happiness means perfect and reasonable activity in a perfect life. In a perfect life, a man would have the ability to spend his life with the one he loves. Would that not be happiness?"

Blaise shook his head. "Aristotle is…" But before he could continue, Draco kissed him. The kiss was everything and more than they had expected, faded memories of the previous night no match for the sheer completeness and ecstasy they felt from the kiss.

When Draco drew back, he said, "In a perfect world, we would not be condemned."

"And _that_ would be happiness for you?"

"No," Draco replied shortly, fixing Blaise with a steely gaze. "_You_ are the highest good."

Silence ensued as Blaise turned toward Draco. The two men locked gazes, turmoiled cobalt sifting through calm grey. Surprisingly, Blaise looked away first, not wanting to read anymore held in the clear quicksilver. Draco sighed, and he reached a hand out to tilt Blaise's face back toward him.

"Blaise…" he murmured.

Just then, a knock resounded on the door, and Draco quickly withdrew his hand. "Enter," Blaise called.

A maid entered with her eyes downcast. "My Lords, lunch is ready," she said, wringing her hands nervously.

"Stop your wringing. I will not have any member of this household not acting the way they were trained. Understand?" Blaise said sharply. The maid nodded timidly. "If you ever disgrace this household again…let's just say you will regret it." The maid scurried out of the room in a semi-dignified manner, terrified of her master.

Blaise rose out of his couch, and he held out a hand to Draco. Draco stared at the hand, then gazed at him briefly before finally placing his hand in Blaise's. Blaise raised the fair hand to his lips and kissed it briefly before pulling Draco up, and the two men stared into each other's eyes for an indefinable moment before they let go of each other and set out for lunch.

Step Six  
Vanity

After lunch, Pansy dragged Draco to her room. "What are you wearing for tonight, dear? We must match, after all."

_Was _that_ the only reason she asked me?_ Draco could not believe his wife. However, he merely sighed and told her, "I was thinking about wearing grey."

"Grey? I know you love the color because it brings out your eyes, but I do not truly have anything that would match for me! I look terrible in grey, my dear. Surely you can wear something else to the ball?"

Draco shook his head, his resolve set. "No, I am wearing grey. Why don't you just wear white?"

Pansy's mouth fell open with scandalized horror. "WHITE? I am not going to go to a ball and be made a fool of! I will match you if it's the last thing I do on earth!" Huffing, she grabbed several outfits and marched into the bathroom, a maid following.

After what he swore was hours of waiting, Pansy finally emerged from the bathroom, dressed in a grey gown currently in style. Diamonds were embedded throughout the satin, making Pansy sparkle and look much more beautiful than she really was.

"Draco, darling, how do I look?" she purred.

"Wonderful, Pansy," he replied, looking her up and down.

"Thank you so much, dear," she gushed as she sat down in front of the dresser. The maid moved behind her to start working on her hair and makeup as she said, "I shall see you later this afternoon, Draco."

Step Seven  
Lies

The four aristocrats set out for the ball at approximately five in the afternoon. They had employed only one carriage, and at Ginny's suggestion, Blaise and Draco sat on one side while Ginny and Pansy sat on the other side.

Blaise knew exactly why Ginny proposed such an action. She _wanted_ to be by Pansy. And he had been married to Ginny long enough to know that she was not stupid. She was actually quite smart, and he wouldn't be surprised if she had already started catching on to his and Draco's little _endeavors_. But for now, she had asked for such an odd arrangement so she could spend more time with Pansy before Draco and Pansy left again for England.

Hmm…what was he to do when Draco left? It'd be a shame to let such a fine gentleman just slip through his fingers due to circumstances neither of them could truly alter. Draco could not stay at _Cieux de Paradis_, and Blaise couldn't leave his manor. There must be _some _way to ensure his ownership of Draco.

As the carriage sped out of _Cieux de Paradis_, Blaise nudged Draco's leg with his foot discreetly as the ladies were talking. Draco turned to him with surprise and annoyance mixed in his eyes, and Blaise sneaked a hand over to Draco's, gently caressing the tender flesh.

Draco confirmed that Ginny and Pansy were occupied before turning to Blaise, glaring at him. Blaise merely put on an innocent smile as he continued stroking Draco's hand, sending shivers down the blonde's spine.

Pansy and Ginny decided to engage the two men in conversation at that moment, and both men were able to appear as if nothing had happened between them. However, whenever a moment arose, Blaise would make sure to _touch_ Draco in some way, keeping the blond wary and uptight.

It was almost too easy now that he had Draco eating out of the palm of his hand. Who would have thought how submissive a Malfoy could be once one broke him? As the carriage careened down the driveway to _Le Loup Fleurit_, Blaise's hand started toward Draco's hand while the ladies refreshed their makeup. Unexpectedly, though, Draco's hand met his midway , and the graceful fingers intertwined with Blaise's own, causing Blaise's heart to skip a beat.

The contact lifted as soon as it was made, and Blaise cursed their wives for not taking longer on tidying themselves. The carriage soon stopped, and the driver opened the door. Blaise left the vehicle first, and he extended a hand to his wife, helping her exit the carriage. Draco and Pansy repeated their actions, and the four soon stood in front of the manor doors, ready to waste an evening socializing with others of their stature.

Step Eight  
Lust

_The Four Seasons: Spring_ by Vivaldi wafted through the halls of _Le Loup Fleurit_. The four made their way into the ballroom, where Pansy and Ginny were immediately accosted by a group of chattering ladies. Draco and Blaise took off their hats and bowed, and quite a few of the women giggled as they left the two handsome men.

Blaise smirked. "Such foolish ladies they are, thinking we would take interest in them. Who could compare to you, _mon cher_?" he whispered the last words, a half-smile, half-smirk donning his face.

"Lord Zabini, it is a pleasure to see you here. And…you are also here, Lord Malfoy."

Blaise turned toward the newcomer, sighing inwardly as he instantly discerned the owner of the voice by the accented French that grated his ears in the most horrible fashion, though he greeted the other gentleman with a smile.

"How have you been faring, Lord Potter?" Blaise asked, wishing that Potter would just disappear.

"I am well, Lord Zabini. I'm surprised to see _you_ here, _Lord_ Malfoy," Potter said.

Blaise sent a questioning look at Draco, and Potter, seeing it, said, "Lord Malfoy and I attended school together."

"Unfortunately," Blaise heard Draco mutter under his breath. "How have you been?" Draco bit out.

"A bit busy. I've recently finished a bit of business and shall be heading home soon. And you, Lord Malfoy?"

Blaise saw it then. Beneath all the intense dislike lined with bitter politeness lay one single, undeniable thing. Potter lusted after Draco, no matter what their relationship was. Blaise saw it in the unconscious actions Potter made that betrayed his true emotions.

But then, who _wouldn't_ lust after Draco? He was the very epitome of beauty, what with his flawless skin, beautiful hair, stunning eyes…No physical part of Draco Malfoy could be considered not beautiful.

"I presume I shall see you in England, Lord Malfoy. Until we meet again, Lord Zabini," Potter said.

"Farewell, Lord Potter," Blaise said out of politeness, and as soon as Potter was out of their sight, Blaise turned to Draco.

Step Nine  
Jealousy

"Do you see what he feels for you?" Blaise demanded, and Draco merely blinked.

"Of course I do. That fool has never been good at covering his emotions."

"And?" Blaise whispered dangerously.

Draco laughed. "Blaise, you really aren't jealous of Potter, are you, even after I told you that I love you?" he said softly.

Blaise traced a finger down Draco's hand discreetly. "I'm just making sure you know. You are _mine_, and if he even dares…"

Draco laughed softly. "Dear dear Blaise, do you really think I would want _Potter_? He turned down my offer of friendship, and our enmity is his own fault. Besides, I'm rather glad right now…If he hadn't, would we have met?"

"He seems to think he still has a chance with you," Blaise replied.

"Oh? Then he is sadly delusional, would you not say, my dear Lord Zabini?" Draco gave a mock bow, smirking, and he watched as Blaise almost _smiled_, though his host stopped himself at the last second. Disappointment filled Draco. Blaise had almost smiled. _Almost_. What would he have to do to make Blaise truly smile?

Step Ten  
Light

Draco and Blaise strolled through the rose garden after arriving back at _Cieux de Paradix_. They had left the ball a bit earlier than intended due to Ginny and Pansy's complaints that they were tired, and when they were back home, the two ladies immediately excused themselves. Draco had no doubt as to what they were doing at the very moment.

"Did you enjoy the ball?" Blaise asked without looking at him.

"It could have been better," Draco replied shortly.

Blaise stopped. "Oh? And pray tell me, how could it have improved?" he asked, turning to look at Draco.

Draco turned to Blaise and smirked. "We could have danced."

Blaise smirked back. "And what do you say if we dance here?" he asked, gesturing to the clearing they had stopped in.

"Why not? But who will dance as the lady?"

"You," Blaise told him.

"Me? I cannot! No gentleman would be taught to dance like a lady!"

A half-smile, half-smirk appeared on Blaise's face. "I'll be the lady since you insist, _mon cher_," Blaise said. "What dances do you know?"

"How about the Volte?" Draco asked with a grin.

Blaise raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Draco placed his right hand right beneath Draco's shoulder blade and held Blaise's right hand in his left, keeping their joined hands at eye level. Blaise slipped his left hand to rest gently at the end of Draco's right shoulder, though his thumb and forefinger were tight so he could follow Draco's lead.

Draco led Blaise through the Volte, Blaise looking over Draco's right shoulder the entire time, even when they were talking, in order to keep the perfect, elegant form of the dance.

"How do you know how to dance like a lady?" Draco whispered softly as they danced through the clearing.

"My father," Blaise replied shortly, a hint of bitterness creeping into his voice. "He thought it humourous to dance with me before he took me, reminding me that I would always be beneath him, always be like a female to a male. But he was wrong," Blaise said with deep loathing in his voice.

"But why are you offering to dance the role of a lady if it holds such unpleasant reminders of the past?" Draco asked.

Blaise shrugged. "You don't know how to, and one of us must dance as the lady if we are to dance together."

"Both of us know that you did not have to consent to dancing with me, but you did anyway and even agreed to follow my lead. Why, Blaise? Why would you please a simple whim of mine that brings up so much repressed hatred and anger?"

"Because I _can,_" Blaise said shortly and with such finality in his tone that Draco did not touch upon the subject again that night.

Step Eleven  
Emotion

Blaise gazed at the blonde sleeping by him, watching the quiet rise and fall of his chest as he let his thoughts wander eventually into forbidden territory that he should never have trod upon under any circumstance.

Draco Malfoy was _different_. Blaise didn't know _how_, but he knew that Draco was different. There was something about the blonde that made him think differently, act differently. Why else would he have agreed to dance with Draco last night in a _moonlit_ rose garden? The clichéd romance of the very event made Blaise want to vomit except for the fact that Draco had been the other one there. But why would Draco create such a difference?

Draco stirred, and he awoke as Blaise finished collecting his foolish, pointless thoughts. Grey gazed into blue intently, and Draco's hand reached up to cup his cheek before whispering, "Blaise," as if his name was something holy, something _good_.

Blaise looked away. Draco was causing too many unwanted emotional conflicts within him, ones he would rather not sort out. What was it about the other man that made him impact Blaise so deeply? What did he have to offer that no one else did?

He had whispered his name again, as if Blaise was his god or his savior. Potter was the savior, not him. So why did he look at Blaise as if he was everything good, right, proper, and desirable in the world? Was this because of _love_?

Blaise unconsciously ran a hand through Draco's hair, fingertips sliding against Draco's head as he did so. Draco gazed at him with…what? It wasn't pure lust, but it was certainly not just love. It was a mixture of too many things Blaise was feeling himself, and…Blaise did not want to delve deep into his layers of confusion because he was actually a bit _afraid_ of the truth.

Draco laid small kisses down the side of his face, hands holding Blaise's head, and all of a sudden, for some inexplicable reason, Blaise felt too vulnerable, as if Draco could see through everything and into his mind, his heart.

His will was still strong, but could he remain under control with so much turmoil clouding his usually clear and precise mind? Could his will really be strong enough to push everything away and erase them? At that very second, Blaise hated Draco, hated the beauty for coming into his life uninvited and ending up more important than anyone should have been.

Then, the moment was gone, and all that remained were a few vestiges of the overpowering hatred Blaise had felt. He hadn't realized that he had closed his eyes, and Draco kissed his forehead before leaving Blaise to his torrent of conflicting emotions.

Step Twelve  
Omen

Blaise and Draco met each other at breakfast. The two men quietly ate the meal, and as servants cleared the table, Blaise asked, "Would you like to see the waterfall?" He was still the one in charge, no matter what.

Part of the Zabini lands included a river that, more or less, circled back to itself. Blaise's ancestors had altered the height of several parts of the Zabini estate and had an artificial mountain built in order to accommodate the spectacular waterfall that crowned the middle of their land.

Draco looked at him. "Of course, Blaise. The Zabini waterfall is quite famous throughout the aristocracy, as I am sure you know all too well. We've all wondered how your family accomplished such a feat at one time or another."

"One word, Draco. _Will_."

Step Thirteen  
Fear

Draco followed Blaise through the grounds, lush grass brushing against his knee breeches. A looming shape in the distance moved closer and closer until finally, they were standing at the foot of a small mountain, rocks protruding out of the mass.

"A cave is up there," Blaise told Draco. "Can you climb?" Draco was indignant at the thought that he couldn't climb a simple mountain, but he was more surprised at the fact that Blaise _cared_ enough to ask.

After assenting with a hint of displeasure in his voice, Draco followed Blaise as they climbed up the side of the mountain. The trek was harder than Draco had expected, the rough rocks cutting into his soft skin. Blaise, however, gave no sign that the climb posed any difficulty to him, and Draco refused to give the impression that he was inferior. Blaise may _own_ him, but they were _equal_.

After climbing for about forty-five minutes, the two men entered the cave, which was situated halfway up the mountain. The waterfall provided a perfect screen for the cave, the water droplets almost resembling strings of pearls.

Blaise and Draco sat on opposite sides of the cave, gazing at each other languidly. Draco felt the damp coolness of the rough wall against his back, felt his heartbeat return to normal and his sweat evaporating as he rested.

"What do you think?" Blaise asked, turning to look at the magnificent waterfall by them before locking gazes with Draco once again.

"It's spectacular," Draco murmured.

"Oh? Just spectacular?" Blaise asked, arching an eyebrow. "Nothing else?"

"The waterfall pales in comparison to the man before me," Draco replied.

Blaise raised an eyebrow, and the next second, the blond had Blaise pinned against the wall, kissing him urgently, as if he had been deprived of Blaise for days when in reality, they were last together the night before.

It was hotwetsticky, the damp atmosphere causing skin soaked with sweat sticking together as they bit and sucked and nipped and kissed. Neither was truly aware of the rough walls and floor of the cave as they took from each other what they wanted, as they lost themselves in a desperate game played with sucksnipsbites.

Afterward, they lay tangled together, watching the drip drip of the waterfall rushing down in an eternal cycle. Neither spoke to the other because words would only destroy the momentary calm that had settled within them, freed them from all other thoughts.

All too soon, Blaise and Draco left the cave, Blaise leading the way down. When they were about ten meters away from the ground, Draco noticed a pair of egrets in the river. He moved automatically down the mountainside as he watched the birds, and not watching where his feet were stepping, Draco stepped on a loose rock and lost his footing.

Only his left hand was grasping onto the mountainside, and Draco scrabbled to find a purchase, to no avail. Blaise looked up at that moment to see Draco dangling, his hand starting to lose grip. "Draco!" he yelled, an edge of panic barely perceptible in his voice.

Draco felt himself falling, hands trying to grab onto anything possible. Then, he stopped. He looked up to see Blaise holding his left hand, and he knew that Blaise would not be able to stay in such a position for very long.

Cursing his momentary foolishness, Draco felt for a crevice that was not too far away, finally finding one to place his right hand in. He then slid his feet over the surface of the mountain, feet grasping any foothold he could find. The blond looked up and saw Blaise struggling to keep them both from falling, and he immediately let go of Blaise as soon as he spotted an edge for his left hand to grab onto.

Blaise looked down to see Draco safely perched beneath him. The two then climbed down sullenly, still trying to digest fully what had just happened.

Step Fourteen  
Love

Draco breathed a sigh of relief as his feet landed on solid ground. He looked at Blaise, who was looking at him with mild annoyance and something else in his sapphire gaze. "Draco, what did you think you were doing?" Blaise whispered dangerously. Draco merely pointed to the egrets.

Blaise's eyes softened for so short a time that Draco almost thought he imagined it. The raven-haired man then turned to him, whispering, "Do not ever do that again, Draco Malfoy." All of a sudden, an understanding passed between both of them, and Draco knew at the same moment Blaise brushed everything aside and acknowledged it.

"I won't," Draco said back softly.

The day was still relatively young, and Draco saw Blaise lie down in the grass. He turned to look as his host, who _smiled_ back at him. As soon as Draco saw Blaise's smile, his heart stopped.

Blaise's smile was like the appearance of the sun after a devastating storm that had raged on for weeks with no hope of leaving the poor, battered citizens that had to endure its tyranny. It filled Draco, finally, truly completed him as he looked at the god reclining casually beneath him.

"Come join me," Blaise spoke softly, and Draco lay next to Blaise, needing no words to express what they felt. They had finally, truly completed each other, completed the half of a heart within the other.

They watched the sunset together.

Step Fifteen  
Promise

Servants bustled around _Cieux de Paradix_, toting suitcases onto a carriage. Draco and Blaise stood in Blaise's bedroom, and they understood each other perfectly without the need to speak. Blaise cupped Draco's cheek. "The best of luck, Lord Malfoy," he murmured.

Draco wrapped his arms around Blaise's neck and stepped into a final embrace, Blaise automatically putting his arms around Draco's waist. They leaned against each other, relishing in the close contact that they would not have for…who knows how long?

A hint of tears shone in Draco's eyes, and Blaise smiled at Draco before leaning close to the xanthochroid and whispering, "_Je t'aime_." When Blaise drew back, Draco looked at him with startled eyes.

"Blaise…I…"

"Shh…" Blaise murmured, silencing Draco with a finger against the blonde's lips. He then leaned forward, and they kissed, soft and slow, trying to memorize each other and show each other how they felt through mere motions that could barely tell yet told everything.

When they broke apart, Draco traced a finger down Blaise's cheek. "If a revolution does start, you will be welcome at Malfoy Manor," he murmured. Draco gave Blaise one last kiss before leaving the room, Blaise following a few paces behind.

Draco and Pansy met at the front doors, and though Pansy often looked back as they walked to the carriage, Draco did not once turn his head. Pansy waved to Ginny before Draco helped her into the carriage, and he looked back before entering the vehicle. The two men's gazes met, and everything they wanted to say but could not or would not passed between them, and both understood. Draco entered the carriage, and Blaise and Ginny watched as the vehicle was slowly engulfed by the horizon.

-----------------------------

Translations:

_Le Loup Fleurit_ - Wolf Blooms


End file.
